Lion Heart
Lion Heart is a 2.5 Generation prototype IS piloted by Raiden Hataru. When it evolves into 2nd Shift, it bears a new name: Sovereign Spirit. Its IS core is also the first man-made core not created by Tabane Shinonono. Characteristics Lion Heart is Raiden's Personal IS created and manufactured by a Japanese IS company as a prototype experiment for him to pilot. A custom made 2.5 Generation IS, it is shown with a color of silver white on the main body and a streak of black on its outline decorative design along with gold trimmings. Its appearance is somewhat similar to Charlotte's Rafale Revive Custom II but is given a more slim look and more agile when piloting it and only one set of wings that can be deployed into lascannons. The helmet of the pilot is in the form of a lion's head that covers half of the face, leaving the jaw and neck unarmored with two fangs of a lion sticking out and razor teeth in between them. After the Silver Gospel incident, Lion Heart was given over to Tabane by Chifuyu to be modified and redesigned for improved combat and armor defense. It became a full-bodied IS, covering Raiden from head to toe, and gives a very human-like appearance and feel. The lion helmet now covers Raiden's head fully, with its mouth left open of which it can move when Feral Mode is activated. The leg armor has some slight telltale signs resembling Charlotte's Rafale Revive Custom II but is noticeably thinner and more well-rounded at the knee section, giving off a more sleek and aerodynamic look. The armor around the hands is slightly thicker than the leg sections and are angled in order to maximize deflection from small fire arms but can also counteract close-range melee weapons due to two large, smooth spike-like tips passing the wrists and elbows. The waist's armor pieces had shallower angles in order to guard the crotch and spinal section of the IS. Lion Heart's 2nd Shift form, Sovereign Spirit, is largely the same but the sharp tips of the wings bear BITS, named Pride Cubs, that are designed to act as both offense and defense like Cecilia's, the BITS are armed with ion lasers like the Velvet Nightmare ion cannons and are equipped with a sharp edge high carbon steel meant to slice open anything. The lower jaw of the helmet acts as a mouth plate when utilized, covering Raiden's lower jaw. Weapons aside, Lion Heart's core is projected at the chest and covered by thick adamantium armor plating. The claws are larger and sharper and Lion Heart's shoulder pads bear the lascannons that stick out when deployed. The lion helmet also sports a visor inside the mouth for visual. 1st Shift Armaments & Abilities Gunblade: a revolver-like weapon that consists of a sword blade with a revolver chamber built into the hilt, the barrel running inside the length of the blade. It is mostly used like a normal sword and cannot shoot bullets, but can trigger a round that sends a shockwave through the blade as the weapon passes through an opponent to boost damage. It can also deflect off range weapon attacks with a simple swing when in contact. After Lion Heart was redesigned and modified by Tabane, the gunblade was changed as well. Officially called the Blazefire Saber, its functionality differs greatly from the original gunblade in that it can switch between a gun and a sword, like a butterfly knife. It consists of a sword blade with a gun action built into the hilt, the barrel running inside the length of the blade. The gunblade transforms between gun-mode and blade-mode and is capable of both melee and long-range use. The gunblade has a holster in the back that swings behind for the weapon to rest. The gunblade was redesigned again when Lion Heart evolved into 2nd Shift. It still functioned like Blazefire Saber but its design was different and had a new name: Overture. Like it's predecessor, it can switch between a gun and sword and consists of a sword blade with a gun action built into the hilt, the barrel running inside the length of the blade. Overture can be split into two blades due to an extra handle attached to the weapon that allows the action to happen. Velvet Nightmare: a firearm designed after a parallel sword, but with gun functionality only compared to the gunblade; the blade makes up the slide of the gun, and is thus near impossible to use to attack with. Like any metallic weapon, it can be used to block melee weapons and defend the pilot with ease. Two of these weapons were holstered on either hip of the IS, allowing for a quick draw. With the 2nd Shift, the Velvet Nightmares are changed into ion cannons that transform the hand into a range weapon, firing an ion round of pure energy. Lascannons: two large laser cannons mounted and deployed on each wing of Lion Heart that are capable of deploying and sending blue beams at a tremendous amount of power at the acquired target. After being redesigned by Tabane, the lascannons were mounted on the back of Lion Heart and deployed on the shoulders for maximum stability and an increase in firepower. One-Off Ability Akuruturuka: Also classified as Feral Mode, it is the One-Off Ability of Lion Heart that is activated through a command that is also synched to the IS itself, but it comes with a heavy price. Lion Heart becomes a hulking giant, labeled by many as an IS Kaiju. With the One-Off Ability, Lion Heart's speed, attacks, and performance are improved. The durability of Lion Heart is incredibly strong, able to survive even the most powerful of attacks, even if Raiden's body begins to bleed and blood seeps out of the IS due to overusing it. The drawback of Akuruturuka is that it feeds off of Raiden's life-force, acting as a double edge sword. Through this transformation, Lion Heart has a wide range of powers of both manipulating energy and matter, to the shock of other pilots. One such ability is to create and harness cloud-like lightning energy and used for devastating effects. From this cloud of energy can emerge white lightning that leaves scorched marks upon where it strikes and a thunder that sends shockwaves throughout the area. This particular power can be accessed with or without the IS as Raiden can also create lightning from his own hands. Akuruturka can also regenerate the body and grow new bones to recover from devastating attacks. Akuruturuka also enables Raiden to be stronger and faster than even 4th Generation IS, able to effortlessly take out even the most powerful or the most numerical of IS'. It also possesses incredible durability on its spikes, able to survive even a weapon of mass destruction with minimal damage. It also possesses wings for flight 2nd Shift Armaments & Abilities Pride Cubs '('formerly): six BIT units attached to the pointed ends of Lion Heart's wings. Designed to act as both offense and defense like Cecilia's, the BITS are armed with ion lasers like the Velvet Nightmares and are equipped with a sharp edge high carbon steel blades that can be used for combat. Lightning Manipulation: the IS also has an unusual ability to manipulate lightning through nanomachines, derived and fed off of the Akuruka power inside Raiden. It enables Raiden to channel his Akuruka power in the form of lightning to serve a defensive or offensive purposes. Repulsor: built into the chest of Lion Heart to act as stabilization and as a weapon in the form of a blue aqua-like gem, the repulsor generates a long, radiated, intense blue heat beam with concussive pressure produced to keep it steady, able to incinerate anything in its path. Standby Form Lion Heart, in its 1st Shift, took the form of Raiden's blindfold which, although looks entirely like cloth, has small traces of IS technology linking to his IS, allowing him to activate it. It bears a small image of a lion's head on the left side. After his IS evolves into 2nd Shift, it changes into his iron tessen. Trivia * The gunblades Raiden uses are very reminiscent to the gunblades from Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy XIII respectively * The One-Off Ability is inspired by Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen * The chest repulsor is inspired by Iron Man